1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to handholdable surgical devices, and more particularly to shaped scalpels.
2. Brief Description of the Related Art
Surgical lesion removal has in the past been attempted using a variety of surgical tools and techniques, some of which are specially adapted for a particular procedure. For example, large lesion removal from, e.g., the human breast, is typically attempted through an open incision using an ordinary surgical knife or scalpel. While the use of scalpels is widely accepted, they are not designed to minimize the invasiveness of the procedure. During the procedure, it is usually necessary to form an incision which is much larger than the legion which is targeted for removal, so that the surgeon can work around, under, and over the legion to remove both the entire legion and a margin of tissue surrounding the lesion. The removal of a margin of tissue around the lesion is typically indicated, to be more certain that all of the lesion has been removed by the surgical procedure.